Earth

Earth is both the birth world and the center of Terran civilization's 98 nation-states and unions. The permenant population hovers at fifteen billion Terrans and includes another four billion inorganics (robots and A.I.s). Earth is the most populated planet in the Core.

Today, most industrial, mining and farming is done in orbit or on the moon. The energy requirements are fulfilled by orbiting solar arrays, orbiting solar wind converters, subterranean geothermal sources, and high altitude wind turbines.

Interplanetary as well as interstellar commerce and travel is centralized at one of two large high orbit star ports (Arcadia and Chrysallis). Earth's LEO zone is one of the busiest and the most crowded.

Despite Terra Secundus serving as the headquarters of the Council of the Core, the governments of Terra still maintain their capitols and major governmental offices here. Recently however, there has been a trend by many governments to move a large number of their agencies and offices throughout colonial space to ensure unity with their respective colonies. Many officials believed a centralized system would eventually lead to separatist movements, so by placing important offices in strategic locations, there would be a stronger influence over developing worlds.

With advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, gene manipulation and life extension to name a few, employment opportunities have become an everchanging balancing act. Most of the digitalized nations are also heavily ladened with a robust service industry placing most of those employed citizens in a mediocre to sub-par lifestyle known as the 93 percenters. The remaining seven percent includes the hundreds of trillionaires,thousands of billionaires, and almost a billion millionaires.

Earth has become a world of stark contrast between the economic classes. This has pushed millions to leave in search of new opportunities in the colonies.